Every swimmer should know this race. It’s 2008. Beijing Summer Olympics. Michael Phelps has already won his first of eight gold medals. The French are expected to win the next relay. Phelps is set to lead off for the US.
If you don’t know which race I’m talking about, it’s the men’s 4x100 freestyle relay at the 2008 Olympic Games (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chwxaUtnfUk&t=342s). I was only eight years old when I first watched this race, but I remember it all so vividly. I remember that I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen as I watched the US lose their lead until Jason Lezak pulled off an impossible anchor leg. I recall my eyes widening during the last 10 meters of the race, as Lezak used every last possible second to catch the French in the end. I distinctly remember hearing “Here comes Lezak!” as he lunged for the tight finish. I remember celebrating in relief and in shock that the US won the gold.
My reaction to this race remains the same 12 years later. I return to this race every once in a while, whenever I need a little pump up. And ever since my senior year of high school, when I watch this race again, I’m reminded of something my swim coach told our team.
During that entire season, he preached about doing something bigger than ourselves. Swimming is often thought of as an individual sport, but what people don’t understand is that there is so much more to the sport than the times that appear on the clock. Swimming is a demanding sport that requires so much time put in and out of the pool. We spend hours together, working through grueling sets and tough competitions. It’s impossible to get through all of that alone, and when it comes to competing, the culture of the team means absolutely everything. What or who we swim for can make or break a champion.
Before heading out to the state championships, our coach put on this video. Before he even hit play, I knew exactly what race he wanted to show us. But this time, he started with a little context to the race that I never really thought about. We all know that this is when Michael Phelps set out to break Mark Spitz’s record by winning eight gold medals in one Olympic Games. At this point, he had already won his first, but the pressure was on him and his teammates to keep this up.
The French team were the favorites to win the event, so it was unclear whether or not Phelps was going to achieve his second gold. But this race wasn’t necessarily all about Phelps’s gold medal. All that week, the French were trash talking the Americans. Their anchor, Alain Bernard, said that they were going to smash the Americans – it’s what they came for.
The French were talking the talk, but the Americans were determined to silence them.
Phelps and Garrett Weber-Gale maintained a steady lead, and Cullen Jones held on the best he could, but by the last leg of the relay, everything seemed hopeless for the Americans. Bernard, the French anchor, became a whole body length ahead of Lezak. You want to look away as it seemed evident that the French were going to take the gold, but then you hear Rowdy Gaines’s volume rise as Lezak closes in on Bernard.
Now I can never be completely sure of this (unless I got the honor of talking to the GOAT himself), but I don’t think that in that moment where Lezak started catching up, Phelps was really thinking about his gold medal or the world record. I think he was just hoping that Lezak was going to do enough to beat the French. And when it finally happened, I don’t think he was celebrating his second gold, but rather that he and his teammates were able to come together and beat the team that doubted them. Sure, he eventually understood how necessary that win was for his Olympic dream, but in that moment, he was celebrating something bigger than himself.
This is arguably the best relay (maybe even the best race) in the entire history of the sport and there are so many factors that play into it. How the world record was shattered by multiple teams. Lezak’s miraculous anchor leg. The way that he used every last distance to make up ground. The way that he was pulling forward, even in the last moments from the flags to the wall. The determination and hope in the Americans’ eyes as they were in it with Lezak, cheering him on the whole way. The celebration as everyone realized what happened. The pride in the American team as they proved the French wrong. The trust that Phelps had in his teammates.
I could go on about all the aspects of this race that make it so iconic, but let’s get back to the main point of this writing. When we watched this race before heading out to the state meet, I couldn’t help but think of those highlight moments of my own swimming career. One that comes to mind was my junior year of high school. It was a dual meet against our closest rival. We were tied headed into my event, the 100-yard breaststroke. This was the last event before the final relay, and we knew that the other team’s relay was going to out touch us in the end. So, if I didn’t pull off a win in the breaststroke, we were going to lose the whole meet.
It sounds pretty dramatic, and the pressure was really on, but before I stepped onto the starting block, I paused and watched my entire team surround the pool, ready to cheer us breaststrokers on. What an incredible moment that was. I forgot about swimming for myself and my own personal best. I decided to swim for my team. I only cared about winning, not for my own sake, but for my team. For my school.
For something bigger than myself.
When the race ended, I looked at the scoreboard. I didn’t even look at what time I went, but my eyes went straight to the rankings. I saw a 1 by my lane and I turned my eyes to my team and my coaches. I don’t think I’ve ever been so animated after a race. I got out of the pool and people were rushing to me and the other breaststrokers. Parents were shouting to us from the stands, congratulating us on an exciting race and an important win. My coach gave me a huge hug, and I knew that I couldn’t have done it if I wasn’t thinking about my team the whole time.
We did it. And it didn’t even cross my mind that I won. I just celebrated the fact that we had just won.
In my moments of doubt, I think back to this race and the legendary 400 free relay. Whenever I feel small or that I’m not enough for a goal that I have for myself, I remember what my coach told us about doing something bigger than ourselves.
I keep this mindset with me when something goes wrong in my research lab. When fundraising is slow for Purdue Dance Marathon (PUDM). When it seems like Satan has taken control of so many people’s hearts.
In research, the tasks I’m able to do as an undergraduate may seem mindless and irrelevant, but then I remember that every little thing someone does in the lab is contributing to the bigger picture in some way. Even the monotonous task of racking pipette tips is necessary for the goals of the entire lab group. And yes, experiments go wrong all the time and I doubt my place in the lab, but even the setbacks are essential to making discoveries in the science field. There is so much more to research than the work that I do.
In PUDM, when I’m asking for donations to Riley Hospital for Children, I get discouraged by the people who think we’re doing this for our own satisfaction. But the reality is that we are just a small part in the big fight against pediatric cancer. This isn’t about portraying ourselves as selfless and generous people, but rather, this is about making a good life possible for everyone. It’s for the researchers, so they are able to keep searching for answers. It’s for the families, so that they don’t have to worry about losing someone. It’s for the kids, so they have a chance at this crazy beautiful thing that we call life.
In faith, we often forget that we are called to greatness. This greatness comes from living our lives not for our glory, but the glory of God. We are called to be SAINTS. The Catholic faith is so much more than our personal relationships with God. It’s all about community. The communion of Saints. The Mystical Body of Christ. And this is all so that we are able to share God’s love with our neighbor. So that we can get as many people to heaven as possible. When I doubt the strength of my ability to lead others to holiness, I get in my own way. I forget that I’m not alone. I have a whole team of ministry leaders around me. I have the Holy Spirit and all of those gifts and fruits. It’s not about the work that I do, but it’s about how God is working through me.
In everything that you are passionate about, ask yourself how you can do things in a way that’s bigger than yourself. I think that you can come to realize that you have a far bigger impact than you think. Or that you are more important than you think. Or that there are people that you can depend on, and that they are often depending on you, too.
Pull a Lezak and do the impossible by doing something bigger than yourself. What a vibrant and exciting life that will bring.
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